The past few months have flown by and now Christmas is already done and dusted. I love reading everyone's What I Got Posts as im so nosey! They usually end up making me spend money. I don't get why people find these kinds of posts as "bragging" when they clearly aren't, 90% of bloggers love to read them as we are all beauty addicts!

For me 2016 has been my favourite year for beauty. The amount of products I have fallen in love with and even finding some new holy grails. I have had the chance to try out some incredible products and just like last year I am sharing my top beauty picks of 2016. I love seeing what products people are loving.

This year me and nine other bloggers decided to do a secret Santa. I was so excited and loved buying the gifts and wrapping them. We used an online website where we all put our names and email addresses then you got an email saying who you had. When we received our Secret Santa's we had to guess who had us and then once everyone guessed we could open the cards to see who it was from.

I have found so many new blogs to follow this year but I thought I would narrow it down to my favourite 10 blogs. I love finding out what blogs bloggers are loving, it is a great way to find some new ones to follow. Alot of these girls I talk to often whether its texting or on Twitter. This year has been my favourite in blogging as I have got to speak to some amazing people.

Christmas is such an exciting day although this year im struggling to get into the festive spirit! I remember the good old days when you are a kid circling everything in the Argos catologue that you want. As you get older you seem to get less excited but I will always have our Christmas Day Traditions to look forward to.

Stationary is addictive. Every year I go on the hunt for a planner/diary one I can use for my blog. This year I have found my favourite planner yet! The best thing is it only cost £10! When I picked this planner up I thought it was going to be around £30-£40 not £10... BARGAIN!

When I say a product is a holy grail of mine I really mean it. It isn't often I find cult products I couldn't live without and this year I have found some right gems! I own alot of products especially foundations, I must own around 30 and I love most of them but to call them a holy grail is a big thing. Going through my collection trying to narrow it down to my holy grail products was quite hard but I did it, I narrowed it down to eleven products!

Pinterest has become a slight addiction of mine. I only started using Pinterest around August 2016 so not long ago. I had an account but never used it as I never really understood the point of it but now I am on it daily. Since August my followers have grown and I am now on 16K! I honestly cannot believe I have that many followers in such a short amount of time. I have had so many people ask me what I do so I thought I would share with you all what I do. Now to be honest it isn't anything technical and I don't know why it has made mine grow so quick but I am so thankful.

I get alot of people ask me do I get many views to my blog from Pinterest, in the beginning I didn't. It has only been over the past month or so I have noticed I am getting alot of traffic from Pinterest so it is worth sticking with it. Don't expect instant results as it doesn't work that way.

Be Active | This is an obvious one but I always get asked how many pins should you be pinning. That is up to you. I usually pin a minimum of 20 a day. Some days I don't bother and only do one or two but I try and do at least 20 which is pretty easy on Pinterest.

Eye Catching Boards | I have around 40 boards now but some I don't use. I did an interview on Caitlin's blog Through The Mirror (Check out her blog she has some great blog tip posts) and I explained you don't need lots of boards you can just have 10 boards and focus on those. For beginners I would advise have no more than 10 boards and concentrate on building those before creating new ones. Give them catchy names, some of mine have boring names i.e. Autumn Fashion or Hair Envy but try to make some catchy ones to make your board stand out.

Keep Boards Secret | When I first start a board I make it secret! When you create a board you get the option of keeping it secret or public. I do this because if I didn't someone would click on my board and only see 3 pictures and wouldn't follow. Keep your board secret until you have pinned at least 30 pins. Then you can make it public. It shows people you are active and pin often.

Follow | Be sure to follow other boards. Don't be someone who only pins and doesn't follow anyone. The more people you follow the more images you have to pin. I think I follow around 400.

Be You | I make boards about topics I enjoy, this way I constantly enjoy pinning things related to them. I wouldn't start a board for things I don't personally like as I wouldn't pin things as much compared to the boards I enjoy more.

How To Grow Pinterest For Your Blog

Pinterest is a great way to grow traffic to your blog. It does take time and work, be patient and it will happen.

Images | In the beginning I would just pin the images from my blog post but now when I take my blog photo's I take an extra photo. As you can see my blog photo's are wide but for Pinterest you want them to be long in length and not as wide as Pinterest prefers slim tall images. Below you can see an example from one of my posts and see my blog picture vs my pinterest picture.

Pin Your Post | You can pin images directly from your blog and it will automatically have the link or if like me you take an extra photo and upload it directly to Pinterest copy and paste the blog post link into the Pinterest image.

Group Boards | These aren't something I use that much but I should do. You can search many Pinterest group boards related to what you want. Join them and then pin your blog posts.

Promote | I promote my Pinterest once a day on Twitter. I also ask bloggers for their links so I can follow them. Socialize as you can't really socialize via Pinterest so do it on another platform. Track Your Pinterest StatsGoogle Analytics | Once logged into GA go to Acquisition (left hand side) - Social - Network Referrals - Scroll Down - Click where it says Pinterest in the list and it brings up a list of referrals from Pinterest to your blog.Blog Posts | You can track to see who has pinned posts from your blog or pinned the image by putting:http://pinterest.com/source/yourwebsite.com/Mine would be:http://pinterest.com/source/emmywritesabout.com/Check out my Pinterest EmmyWritesAbout

That is everything I do on Pinterest, nothing special but just little things that can help grow your Pinterest. Have you seen my other blog tips posts? I recently did a Bloggers Guide To Twitter.

New York is one of the places I have always wanted to go and being able to go a few weeks ago was just incredible. I had reconstruction surgery last year which I am still recovering from so I couldn't do everything I wanted to in New York but I enjoyed it non the less and will go again once I am better. Going to New York you walk miles and I mean 10 plus miles a day! The subway is your friend. I have done a couple of haul posts (links will be at the end of this post) and I also have a Giveaway including an Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick!

This has to be one of my favourite packages I have received since blogging. I had a huge Santa's sack arrive on my doorstep and I couldn't believe how big it was. The sack was personalised with my name which made it even more special then when I opened it I saw all the goodies inside. There is nothing better than receiving surprise gifts.

Contouring is my favourite part of my makeup routine. Some days I have a natural subtle contour and other days I go full throttle and contour those cheekbones like no tomorrow. I have tried many contour kits and find there isn't many good affordable ones. Alot of the shades in cheaper kits are quite orange which don't work on most skin tones. Crown Brush have a new release the 10 Colour Pressed Powder Contour Palette which is affordable and comes with a huge range of shades.

Last week I did my NYC Beauty Haul #1 which included all of the high end makeup I picked up and this week im sharing all the drugstore makeup I got. Any beauty blogger would love to shop in New York, there are so many shops to buy makeup. I do have my NYC Shopping Guide going up in a few weeks which has everywhere I shopped and where they are located.

It is no secret how much I love Vichy products, if you have read my blog for a long time you will have seen many reviews on skincare and makeup from them. I have a huge fan of the original Vichy Dermablend Foundation but I was intrigued by their newest makeup release the Vichy Dermablend 3D Correction Foundation. I am a huge foundation junkie and own around 30 foundations, yes I know it is bad and I dread to think how much money I have spent on them.

When it comes to skincare I tend to stick to a certain routine when I know it works. Im not one to keep testing out products when I find the products I have work well but something about the Hylamide High Efficiency Face Cleaner had me intrigued. The fact the product claims to be a skin balancing face cleaner and a makeup remover surprised me. I used to take my makeup off using the Garnier Micellar Water but this well and truly blows that out of the water.

It's been 3 weeks since I got back from New York and im finally getting my first Beauty haul up! I have two beauty hauls going up and also a Giveaway including some other goodies I got whilst in NYC, the giveaway will be up this Friday!! I decided to split my hauls into including High End and Drugstore. I am going to be doing a New York Shopping Guide which will include the best places to shop and where they are so keep your eyes peeled.

Anyone who has been reading my blog for a while will know just how much of a foundation junkie I am. I own around 30 plus foundations... yes it is alot. The one that has always been on my wishlist is the Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation. I have seen it mentioned in so many YouTube video's but I wasn't sure if it would work for my skin type as I have oily/combination skin. When I recently received this in a PR package I literally was super happy and excited.

Every blogger should be using Twitter to it's full advantage. I get around half of my blog views from Twitter especially since doing certain things. There are many platforms bloggers should be using but for me Twitter is the best place to start as it has so many options and can really help your blog grow. I have had a few questions lately on how I use Twitter for my blog so I thought I would do a Bloggers Guide To Twitter post and include everything you need to know.

Just over a week ago I returned from New York and I literally had the most amazing trip. New York has been on my list for so long, we booked it back in February to celebrate the end to the past 2 years with my accident and surgeries and me not being mobile. Im still not 100% mobile and im still in pain everyday but NYC was a big thing for me, a time for me to feel normal. We went for 5 days and I must admit 5 days was enough I was ready to come home. I have a few haul posts upcoming as I did buy an awful lot there, I also have an NYC Guide Series including shopping, places to go, places to eat, where we stayed etc...

I tried out some Neal and Wolf Hair Care products a while ago and fell in love. I have actually already repurchased the Neal and Wolf Super Shine Spray. They have recently launched a Home and Body Range which includes candles, body lotion and much more. Neal and Wolf is becoming one of my favourite brands. I love how the products are affordable yet they look such high quality.

This is around my 8th order from ColourPop now, you can say im slightly obsessed. When I saw they had released some new Autumn Shadows I knew I had to have a couple. I also picked up two other items which aren't included in this haul as they are gifts for someone else. This time I used a company called My Mall Box to ship the products to me. Yes I know ColourPop now ship internationally but it is still much cheaper to use a third party company to ship the products and also most people who are ordering from ColourPop are getting hit with customs charges.

Skincare tools are talked about excessively lately, Skincare has become something everyone talks about more than before. For me personally I have started upping my skincare routine over the past year and my skin looks better for it. Everyone has heard of the Clarisonic Facial Cleanser Brush but everyone now needs to know about the Crystal Clear Ionic Sonic Cleanse Brush/Kit. Finding skincare tools and products that work best for you and your skin can be a nightmare but once you have the right products you won't regret it.

Autumn and Winter makeup is my favourite, I absolutely love the warm tone eye shadows and dark lips. This year I have found my ultimate products that I am beyond obsessed with. I thought I would share the eye shadows, lips and blushers I will be using throughout the Autumn and Winter seasons. Most of the products are extremely affordable and under £10 with only a couple of high end products.

I have been blogging over two years now, I can't believe it and I can't believe how far my blog has come. I first started my blog after an accident I had which resulted in reconstruction surgery and me not being mobile for two years. I needed something to keep me motivated and busy and a blog was the perfect fit. I never realised how much work and effort I would put into my blog, even though it is a hobby it means the world to me. I can't believe how many of you read my blog, I still get shocked every time I get a follower. In my first year of blogging looking back I did make some mistakes, I didn't really know what I was doing or where I wanted to go but now my blog is exactly how I want it.

I did my first The Blogger Made Me Buy It post in December last year and now I am on my fourth one. It seems you all love to read these posts so why not keep doing them? It isn't often I jump at hyped up products unless I know I have wanted it for months and months. These are the latest products I have purchased that bloggers made me buy. If I wasn't a blogger and read other blogs I wouldn't have half the makeup I own.

As you read this I will be half way through my flight to New York! I am going until Saturday and will reply to all of your comments when I get back. Keep your eyes peeled as I will be picking up a few treats to do a giveaway with. Anyway moving on, today's post is all about the BH Cosmetics Matte Liquid Lipsticks which I finally ordered a few months ago. I had seen alot of YouTuber's rave about them and wanted them so bad. You can order directly from the BH Cosmetics website to the UK and postage is very cheap! If your order is £25 or below you shouldn't get customs. I have ordered twice and not got them.

I can't believe I am flying to New York Monday morning! It has literally come round so quick, I have never been before and I am extremely excited. I don't think I have ever been this excited about holiday. Me and my partner are going Monday to Saturday mainly just to sight see and of course shop! I will be getting alot of makeup and I will also be getting some to host a giveaway once I am back. Planning what to take has been so hard! I have finally decided what makeup I am going to take after trying to decide between so many products.

I have been wearing false lashes since I was 16 and I still love them. I find it so fun to be able to change your lashes and wear a pair that go with certain makeup looks or outfits. My favourite brands have to be Peaches & Cream and Red Cherry as both are extremely affordable and they have a huge range of false lashes. I mainly buy my lashes online as I find not many stores stock the brands I want but you can buy them all from FalseEyelashes.co.uk including brands like Ardell, Vegas Nay, Unicorn Lashes and more!

I own alot of liquid lipsticks but I don't have many I would say im in love with. I am very fussy when it comes to lip products especially liquid lipsticks. When I heard Maybelline had released some I was intrigued and there were a few shades that caught my eye so obviously I had to pick them up. I get so excited when you find drugstore products that are just as good or even better than high end products.

Benefit Erase Paste has been on my wishlist for months. I picked up the Becca Under Eye Brightening Corrector back in the beginning of the year and I loved it so I held off getting the Benefit version. My mum recently got me some Benefit bits from Duty Free. I will also be doing a post comparing the Benefit against the Becca Corrector as they are slightly different. Anyone who suffers with dark under eyes knows the struggle of covering them. No concealer on it's own will cover my dark circles completely hence me using correctors.

I had been wanting the Morphe 35O Palette for so long especially with Autumn coming up so when I won this and lots of other goodies in a giveaway from Megan on her blog Life With MCM. I couldn't believe this was one of the items included. It came in September ready in time for Autumn. The shades are literally Autumn in a palette. The right hand side of the palette it what drew me to it the most. Everyone raves about Morphe Palettes but this one seems to be people's favourite. I hadn't tried anything from Morphe before so I was excited to see if it really does live up to the hype.

I can't believe it is only two weeks today until I go to New York! We booked to go back in February, we booked it to kind of celebrate the end of the last two years. Most of you know I haven't been mobile and I have been housebound for two years due to an accident and reconstruction surgery. New York has always been a dream and now me and my partner are finally going. I am so excited. I will be doing a series of blog posts including bits about NYC including how we booked it, prices, food, places to shop etc... Kind of a guide.

Autumn makeup has to be my favourite, I love the darker lips and blushers. I recently de-cluttered my blush collection and it is still pretty huge but whilst de-cluttering I found some gems I absolutely love and will be using them alot this Autumn and Winter. I go through phases, some days I like a deep mauve berry blush but other days I prefer a pale pink or nude blush. I thought I would include a mixture of blushers to suit everyone for this time of year.

It is no secret how much I love Vichy products from the skincare to the makeup I have fallen in love with so many products especially the Aqualia Thermal Face Serum so when I received the Aqualia Thermal Eye Serum I was so excited. Eye serums are something I only started using within the last year. I never really thought they would make a difference but they really do when you find the one that works for you. I have tried some but alot end up drying out my under eyes which then make my makeup look horrendous.

Mascara is one of those products I don't own alot of. I usually just have a couple whereas foundations and concealers I own far too many, im talking around 30 foundations.. bad I know. I guess I struggle to find a decent mascara, I want length and volume but I have extremely short non exisitant lashes which alot of mascara's do nothing for them. After trialing and test many mascara's I have finally found four mascara's I am happy to own and will definitely repurchase.

If you love beauty anything from makeup to skincare you need to read this and see what goodies are in store! I love trying out new products and brands I haven't heard of or had chance to try before so when this Bloggers Box arrived on my doorstep I was beyond excited to delve in and see what products were inside. The box itself is from Ideal World which is a Multi-Channel Shopping Experience which is available via the Ideal World Channel or you can buy online which ever is easiest for you.

As soon as I heard Urban Decay were releasing a matte fuller coverage foundation I knew I had to have it. I had been counting down the days until it launched. I watched alot of YouTube video's and convinced myself I needed it. I had heard alot of people say it oxidises and as I ordered online it was a bit of a guess what shade to get. Urban Decay are one of my favourite high end brands by far. I have previously tried the Urban Decay Naked Foundation but it wasn't for me. The coverage was far too light for me and it didn't keep me matte at all.

The Urban Decay All Nighter Foundation claims to be full coverage with a matte but not flat finish, comfortable to wear, oil free, three times the amount of pigment compared to the Naked Skin Foundation and it is waterproof.

Yes im a major shopaholic but there are a few things that really grind on me. I shop far too often. Having ASOS Next Day Delivery free for a year is rather dangerous! Whether it is makeup or clothes I will shop and shop for hours and my bank balance looks at me in disgust. We all have pet peeves and I have mine especially when it comes to shopping. You must be thinking how can I hate shopping? I love shopping actually well 90% of the time, here is why...

#1. Sales... Yes I hate sales. Well not totally but just in store I hate them with a passion. My worst nightmare is walking up to rails over filled with clothes, half of them on the floor and then trying to route through it trying to find something. No just no, I don't have time for that! I never ever shop a sale in store, I will always look at sales online where I can actually see what there is.

#2. Labels... Walk into a shop see something stunning, buy it, take it home go to put it on and see someone has put the wrong size on the hanger!! Honestly fuming. Why do people do it?! It isn't hard to put the right size on the right hanger. I always now double check the label inside to make sure it is the right size.

#3. Crowds... I know most places get busy, if you have ever been to the Trafford Center in Manchester at Christmas then you know what I mean when I say busy. I don't mind it that much apart from when people are rude! You see me stood there looking at something so why shove past me? Hello am I invisible?!

#4. Changing room staff... Most of the time they are pleasant and helpful but when you get those ones that are no where to be seen or you can casually see them talking to someone they know... GET BACK TO WORK! Then when they walk over and make you feel like you are the inconvenience! Erm no just no do your job.

#5. Passing Out... We all know this feeling come on, when you walk into a store then have to check have you walked into a shop or a spa?! It is beyond hot, I literally walk straight back out. Being hot and bothered whilst shopping is my worst nightmare.

#6. Slow Checkouts... There is about 10 people in the queue and of course only ONE person on the till and they are going at snail pace. I literally glare at them thinking call someone or do something you can clearly see we are all stood here. It is even more annoying when you see most of the staff members just randomly walking around.

#7. The Pests... As soon as you walk through the door they jump at you asking can they help... woah let me get in the door first! When you are on a first date you don't say lets skip food and go to bed... well some might... im not judging

#8. Arm Ache... I love shopping but when you do a big spree and end up with loads of bags and your arms are literally going to drop off. At least with online shopping it is delivered to your door!

#9. Can't Reach... Why do some stores put some items up so high no one can reach them unless you are 6ft something! I am 5ft 5 which is average and I have no chance of reaching some of it! Do they think with have extending arms??

#10. Bags... Well one is paying for a bag, im spending £100 on clothes and they ask "Do you need a bag?" erm no I was going to put it all on now and walk around like that.. YES YOU IDIOT I NEED BAG. Not only that but you pay for a bag and it is ****! The handles rip within seconds... what is the point?

Remember all those years ago when we did nothing to our brows and went Au naturale... when I look back at photo's from my high school years and think where are my brows?! My eyebrows are one of my favourite parts to do in my daily makeup routine. I often use different products from pencil to powders to pomade. It all depends what mood I am in and where I am going. I recently received the Hi Impact Brows Palette to test, I was very excited as I had heard good things.

The palette contains four shades which can be used on their own or you can mix them to get your desired shade plus look. The packaging is very sleek and extremely lightweight. You get a good size mirror which makes it perfect for travelling with.

Ash | Dark Blonde Shade

Spice | Auburn Brown

Mocha | Dark/Chocolate Brown

Charcoal | Black

I have quite dark brown hair, when I used the palette for a more natural look I used Ash in the beginning of my brow and then Mocha for the mid and tail end. If I am going out or for an occasion I would mix Mocha and Charcoal to create a darker brown on the tail of my brow. I love how pigmented the shades are but still really blendable and easy to work with. I love how versatile the palette is as anyone with light brown hair to black can use the palette.

Above I have created my everyday brow which is more on the natural shade. If I wanted a more defined brow as I said I would mix Mocha and Charcoal just add to the corner/tail of my brow. The Hi Impact Brows Kit retails for £18.99 which I think is amazing for the quality of the shades and how many shades you get. You can buy the palette from Look Fantastic and also Selfridges

*This post includes PR Samples, NOTE all views are my own and my honest opinion. If I don't like a product or have any negative views I will put them on my blog.

I can't believe I am already talking about my Autumn and Winter Skincare routine, seriously where did Summer go? I must admit though I do prefer the colder months as your makeup doesn't melt off, cosy outfits and hot chocolates, whats not to love?! This year my skincare routine has changed alot, I now take my skincare routine much more seriously whereas before I just didn't bother. Since upping my game my skin is looking so much better. I barely ever get a breakout and my skin looks pretty healthy.

A warm toned neutral palette is me 100%. I have never really worn cool toned shadows as I just don't suit the grey, silver, purple kind of shades but show me warm neutrals and im all yours! When I saw this Blank Canvas Master Series Palette arrive on my doorstop I got ever so excited as it is literally a palette for us warm neutral lovers. My eyeshadow collection is growing alot this year, before this year I never had lots of palettes but now I see the addiction.

A girl can never own too many makeup brushes. My makeup brush collection is growing and I love trying out new brands. Base brushes are my favourite to try by far. Don't get me wrong I own alot of eye brushes but I love being on the hunt for the brush that can create a flawless base.

I have three new brushes from two different brands. The first brand is Look Good Feel Better Brushes which is a brand we all should be buying more from. 8%-12% of each brush sale is donated to Look Good Feel Better a charity supporting women with cancer. Look Good Feel Better have a wide range of brushes including base and eye brushes. The brushes are cruelty free and handmade with soft taklon bristles.

I haven't done a haul post for quite a while but over the past month I have got quite alot of new makeup especially high end products. My mum went to Cyprus a few weeks ago and she picked me up some MAC goodies and I was having a big operation on my neck whilst she was away this is my first operation she wasn't there so she also got me some Benefit products... I will have operations whilst she is away more often! Not! Then myself I picked up a couple of items from the Debenhams Kat Von D launch and also got the new Urban Decay All Nighter Foundation.

We are onto my third Real vs Fake post and so far you all seem to be loving the series so I thought I would share another popular product and compare it to the fake/replica. Zoeva is one of the best makeup brush brands out there at the moment, most of the brushes are quite affordable but a few months ago they put their prices up and some brushes are over the £20 mark which not everyone wants to pay for a brush. I didn't even know you could get Zoeva replica products until I came across this one whilst searching for products for this series.

Contouring is part of my daily makeup routine whether its a simple subtle natural contour or a hello cheekbones kind of contour it is always in my routine. I have tried so many contouring products and find most of them disappointing. Trying to find shades to suit my skin tone can be difficult and frustrating. I tend to stay away from drugstore contour products as the shades are very orange! I have only found one drugstore product I can actually work with so mainly I do prefer higher end.

I am utterly and completely obsessed with foundations, finding that perfect base. My foundation collection is around 30 now. I do mainly prefer higher end bases as I find 95% of the time they work better on my skin and work well. I have tried many drugstore foundations most I have hated so to find my top 4 has taken a long time but now I am happy with each one for different reasons.

It's no secret how much I love Antipodes. It is a brand I came across last year and so far I have yet to be disappointed. Antipodes is a natural organic skincare brand that has high quality products. The Antipodes Saviour Skincare Balm is a product I haven't heard or seen before so I was very intrigued to try it out.

I was never this pale, honest! I have become so pale lately and finding concealers and foundations to match me has been a nightmare! I have found some concealers which I swear by and that are perfect for pale skin but they all have different uses. Pale skin and dark skin tones are so hard as alot of brands seem to only cater to people with medium type skin tones. I know L'Oreal was one of the worst but they have now released a huge range of shades perfect for pale and dark skin tones!